In The Shadows
by El Hustino
Summary: [DISCONTINUED] When Link returns seven years after his search for Navi, he is given anything but a warm welcome home. What has happened to turn everyone against him? Will he be able to find the true culprit?
1. HER DISAPPEARANCE AND HIS RETURN

A/N: Hello, and welcome to my first ever Legend of Zelda fanfic! If you're familiar with the Trigun section, you may have seen my other fics, if not, then, well, this is the first one you've seen. Which, depending on the quality of this story, may or may not be a good thing.

As for this story, it's, as I said before, my first LoZ fanfic, so please be gentle with the reviews. And, although it'll probably become evident in the story itself, this takes place about seven years after Majora's Mask.

Disclaimer: What part of 'fanfiction.net' do you money-hungry little baboons not understand? Suing me for violating copyright laws or claiming to be Shigeru Miyamoto will only lead to your own public ridicule and humiliation.

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**In the Shadows**

Chapter One: HER DISAPPEARANCE AND HIS RETURN

Another burst of lightning lit up the sky outside of Hyrule Castle and the following thunderclap shook the great building. The heavy downpour, which had started without any admonition moments before, left the midday sky as black as night, except for the many bolts of lightning that would illuminate it momentarily, only to thrust the land into shadows once again.

As Zelda, the Princess of Hyrule and Seventh Sage, made her way down one of the many corridors of the castle, she could not help but think that the storm, as eerie and foreboding as it was, was only a premonition of something dark to soon come. Although she had not had any visions recently, her intuition spoke to her, telling her that the sudden storm, as seemingly normal for that time of year as it was, was somehow not natural.

The woman shook her head, _My nerves are shot; there is nothing more to this than a normal Spring storm. _Despite what she told herself, Zelda still felt uncomfortable. "Your Highness." The sound of a voice made the Princess jump and turn in the direction it came from.

No more than a few feet away were three castle guards, in their usual stations, bowing_. _"I am sorry to startle you, Milady," The guard that had spoken to her in the first place said, and bowed again.

"No, I am fine. I've been a little on-edge lately, that is all," she said and nodded. The guard rose from his bow. "Was there something you needed to speak to me about, Captain?"

The captain of the castle guard nodded slightly. "I only wanted to ask if you would like an escort to wherever it may be that you are heading. This storm is quite…" he spent a moment thinking of the correct word, "Perturbing, and the halls of the castle can become quite uncomfortable in such a time."

Zelda smiled, "No, thank you. I am quite capable of finding my own bedroom."

"I meant no disrespect…"

"I know, and thank you. But there is no reason to waste a guard on my behalf to just bring me to my room."

The guard nodded, "As you wish, Your Highness." Before Zelda could continue her walk, the captain spoke up again, "This storm…it's strange, is it not? Do you possibly believe that it could…mean anything?"

The Sage spoke without turning back towards the man, "If you are asking me if I have had any visions, then no. Although I do agree that it is very unsettling, it is probably not anything more than a everyday storm. They are common this time of year, after all."

"Yes, you are right. Thank you, Your Highness."

After turning her head to give the guards one last nod, Zelda continued walking down the pitch-black halls. Another bolt shot through the sky, followed by the thunder. The constant pummeling of rain echoed throughout the entire castle, leaving no place in silence. A cold chill entered the hall, and the princess wrapped her arms around herself, but not only because of the cold.

A strange sound, one resembling a gurgled choke, sounded down the hall. If Zelda had not been so jumpy, she would have probably missed it. She turned around, towards where the sound came from. If she had to guess, it seemed like it had originated near the captain and the two other guards.

"Captain? Did you hear that?" Nothing. "Captain?" she said again. Another flash of lightning lit the sky and the hall. In the short burst of light, Zelda could see that the guards were no longer at their post. Deciding that it was unimportant at the moment, the woman frowned and turned back.

A dripping sound, one sounding heavier than the rain, and one of a much slower rhythm, echoed lightly far down the hall. _It must be another leak, _Zelda thought. She passed a large door that normally had a guard on each side at all times, but was oddly vacant at the moment. "The soldiers better not be shirking guard duty again," the princess said with a sigh and continued on her way.

As the chill continued to grow colder, Zelda wrapped her arms around herself tighter. The closer she got to the strange dripping sound, the colder she became. The royal dress she wore, normally more than warm enough for the climate of Hyrule, were inadequate in the unusually freezing weather.

Once the dripping sound seemed to be within reach, Zelda stopped in her tracks, looking ahead. The sound that she had thought to be the dripping of rain water making its way through a crack in the castle walls now sounded more of a loud, slow plop. She could not shake the feeling that something was out of place, even more so than before.

Another burst of lightning illuminated the hallway, and there, only a few yards before the Sage, was a figure, one so dark that it seemed that the shadows had taken human form. In his hand was a blade, a thick liquid dripped off the edge and formed a small puddle on the floor. Behind whoever it was, were two bodies on the floor where two guards once stood.

"Who are you?" Zelda asked straightforwardly. The light left the corridor once again, plunging the princess and the intruder into darkness again, making it difficult for Zelda to see the figure. She could see him know that she knew he was there, but only slightly, and she had to squint to do so.

"You do not recognize this face, Princess? Hehe, even the guards," he pointed over his shoulder to the two crumpled bodies behind him, "Had recognition in their eyes before they fell. Of all people, you should be most familiar with this face that I wear."

Princess Zelda stood silently, waiting for another chance to see the hall. Once the chance came, she still could not see the swordsman's face because of the angle that he stood away from the windows and the light. She could, however, see that the crumpled figures behind him were, in fact, that of the two guards that were placed in that spot. They were felled with one blow each, one strong enough to sever them, and yet silent enough that no sound, from neither the blow itself nor the victims, could be heard.

Thinking for a moment about who it could be that invaded the Castle of Hyrule on a night such as this, Zelda spoke, "Why are you here? What do you want?"

"Hehe. You, naturally. You think that I stood here waiting for so long, and the Princess of Hyrule just happened to stumble upon me coincidentally? Oh, no." The sound of metal upon metal, most likely the sheathing of the man's sword, was the only sound in the hall, minus that of the rain and thunder.

Bracing herself for an attack, Zelda waited for the intruder and kidnapper hopeful to strike first. And strike he did. Before she was aware of her opponent's movement, the Sage was struck with the shadowy man's attack, and her consciousness was quickly over come by darkness.

The last she heard was the echoing sound of the foreboding rain.

* * *

The bright light of the morning sun made its way through the branches and leaves of the countless many trees of a great forest. Glints of light sparkled in the droplets of fresh dew upon the many leaves of the trees like tiny jewels. The forest was serene and quiet, apparently absent of all movement, except for one figure atop a horse, with a bright shining ball of energy of light following them.

Link, the savior of two worlds, rode upon Epona, the horse that had been with him for many years, and journeyed with him to the far off land of Termina. The teenage boy, of about nineteen years, had left from that once doomed land many years ago, but never returned to his home, Hyrule.

The Hero's journey, one to find a friend that had weathered his quest against the Dark King Ganondorf, had eventually came to an end. The fairy that flew near his head, Navi, had been found. Which may or may not have been a good thing…

"Link, are we there _yet?!"_ the tiny voice of the fairy squealed.

Link hummed to himself and nodded from time to time, a smile across his face. After a few moments he answered Navi, "Almost."

"You said that the _last_ time I asked!"

"Yes, that's because you asked five minutes ago." From the corner of his eye, the boy could see the tiny form of the fairy, arms crossed impatiently and a small frown on her little face, and smiled, "Don't worry, we're not lost. I may be a Hylian, but I lived with the Kokiri long enough to know a forest like the back of my hand."

Navi looked at him, then to his gauntlets, stained with the blood of countless beasts and monsters. The tiny woman gestured to them, "When was the last time you even saw the back of your hands?"

Link's face turned to her and frowned, then he stared at the soiled gauntlets, trying to figure out what his friend could have meant. Instead, he returned his gave before him, "We're almost there."

The fairy let out a sigh, "If you say so, Link." She quickly spoke again, her demeanor suddenly changing, "I can't wait to get back! I can see all the Kokiri, the Deku Sprout, Saria, Mido…Well, maybe we don't have to see him, but we'll get to see everyone else!" The excited squeal of her voice brought the smile back to Link's face and he let out a laugh. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing, Navi," Link said, smirking. For a long time all that could be heard were the clopping sound of Epona's hooves and the squishing sound of any wet plants she would happen to step on. From time to time, a small rodent or a bird would fly out of the horse's path, but other than that the forest was oddly vacant.

In the pit of his stomach, Link felt a strange sensation, as if something wrong had happened, _Something seems…wrong… _he took a deep breath, let it out and pushed the feeling away. It wasn't a time to worry. He had been gone from his forest home for about seven years, and he would soon be there again.

* * *

"Here we are, the edge of the Lost Woods," Link spoke to his two companions. He smirked at the smaller of the two, "I told you I wasn't lost."

The fairy looked insulted, "I'm shocked to believe that you thought I didn't trust you!" Link rolled his eyes. A few minutes later, the trio made their way through the final hollow log marking the exit of the Lost Woods and the entrance to the Kokiri Forest. Link brought Epona to a stop to look over his old home from the high vantage point that the path from the Lost Woods gave him.

Navi, though, ecstatic to see the familiar homes, flew in circles above Link's head. Moving back and forth as if she didn't know where to go first and talking quickly, "It's even better than I remember! I'm so happy! I wonder whom I should go see first? Maybe get something to eat?"

Ignoring the antics of his tiny friend, Link looked over the home of the Kokiri. Other than the loud ramblings of Navi, there was complete silence. The entire area was empty. Looking up towards the sky, Link could see the sun directly above him. _It's about noontime…_

"Navi."

"Maybe we'll go find Saria!"

"Navi."

"I wonder if the fairies have any news?"

"Navi!"

Finally, the excited little nymph noticed that Link was addressing her, "What is it, Link?"

"Listen."

Sighing from confusion and grumpiness out from Link's odd request, Navi closed her mouth to listen. After a few minutes she gave up, "I don't hear anything. It sounds nice and peaceful to me."

"What do you normally think of when you think about the Kokiri Forest at noon?"

"The Kokiri yelling, running around, everyone having fun…" then it hit her, "Where is everybody?"

Link shrugged. "Let's go find out." Link led Epona down the path, which was easy enough for the horse to negotiate. As they got closer to the homes, they could see that they had their doors shut, which was an odd thing, considering that, when Link had last been there, they never had doors. But now, for whatever reason, they did, and not only that, but they were also locked.

"Link, I'm scared; Where is everyone?" the fairy flew closer to the boy's shoulder, looking around for a sign of anyone. Link did not answer. He had a strange feeling, not the same one as before, though. This gave him the sensation that he was being watched…

Link turned his head, and he saw a quick glimpse of someone's cap in the window of the Know-it-All Brother's home. As soon as the wearer realized he had been spotted, the cap disappeared from view and was replaced by a curtain. With his brow furrowed in confusion, and more than a little curious, Link gently tugged the reigns to make Epona move up the hill to the Brothers' home.

"Where are you going, Link?" Navi asked, but he didn't answer. The boy hopped off of his steed, and went to the door of the Brother's home. Epona walked away to chew on one of the bushes that grew nearby.

"Hello?" Link called out. He knocked on the door, "I know you're in there. Can someone tell me where everyone is?"

"Go away!" a voice shouted from inside.

"What?"

"Yeah, leave!"

"You guys, it's me, Link…" Link said in confusion, thinking that they may not have recognized him.

"We know who you are!" Link turned and saw Mido standing outside of his home, "We just don't want to talk to some murderer and thief!"

"Thief…Murderer," Link repeated, "What are you talking about, Mido?"

The leader of the Kokiri frowned and glared at the much taller boy, "You should know; and don't think you can trick us, Hylian! We've heard about what you've done, even here!"

Link looked to Navi, who could only shrug and look away. "Where's Saria?"

The forest child snorted, "You're lucky I haven't told her about what you did, but that's only because I didn't want her to feel hurt. And, no, I doubt she knows you're back."

"Mido, what is it that you think I've done? I have only been in Hyrule for a short time."

"Sure you have, liar. Everyone from the Kokiri to the Gerudos have probably heard about what you did by now! You should just leave while you can, _Link,_ before you get us mad."

Standing agape, Link did not move for a moment. This was not the welcome he had wanted, much less expected. "I don't understand, Mido, what's happened?" Link began to walk towards the Kokiri.

"Stay away!" Mido shouted, and ran into his home, the rough wooden door slamming and being locked behind him. Still confused and in a bit of shock, Link stared at the door.

"Link, maybe we should leave…" Navi's normally excited and happy voice was filled with concern as she landed on Link's shoulder. The Hero nodded slowly and whistled for Epona, who trotted over quietly. Even the horse could sense the disappointment coming off of Link.

After giving the empty village one more look-over, Link slowly rode Epona out of the Kokiri forest and across the bridge that Saria had once, long ago, given him a present the first time he was forced to part with his home. This time, though, there was no one to help him.

* * *

Soon, Link had crossed Hyrule Field, and made it to the drawbridge in front of Hyrule Castle Town. If anyone could possibly explain to him what may have scared Mido and the Kokiri, it would be Zelda. Thinking it best not to bring too much attention upon himself, the swordsman left Epona to graze outside of the town.

After crossing the large wooden bridge, Link could not shake the same feeling that he had when entering Kokiri Forest. As he entered the main area of the town, he was relieved to see that it looked as he remembered; groups of people covering the street, the shouts of people bargaining, dogs the occasional cucco running around.

A slight smile crossed his lips, and he began to cross through the mobs of shoppers and children. Navi, who didn't enjoy gigantic crowds of Hylians all that much, was making herself comfortable under Link's cap and atop his hair. Even with his strange outfit, Link was able to blend in easily with the locals. Most were too obsessed with the outdoor shops or just trying to make their own way through the horde to notice him.

Once Link made it to the fountain in the center of town, he heard a child's voice. "Mommy, look, it's the man from the pictures!"

"What pictures, honey?" the mother paid more attention to the cloth a salesman was trying to con her into paying much too many rupees for than to her daughter.

"The picture…the posters all ova' the place! He looks just like the bad man everyone is talkin' 'bout." Link could feel himself beginning to sweat. After the incident with Mido, this did not seem very good.

The mother frowned and looked to the person her daughter was referring to…who of which happened to be Link. She screamed, and grabbed her child, making a run through the crowds shouting, "It's _him!_"

Link jumped and looked around, watching as the people, after getting a good look at him, turned from a normal mob to an angry mob. They ran everywhere shouting for the Castle Guards and Knights. After a few moments, Link was left alone in the center of Castle Town.

From the direction of the castle, Link heard people coming. He turned, and there, rushing into town, was a group of Castle Guards, their light armor and spears clanging against themselves as the walked. "Halt, stop right there!" the apparent leader shouted to Link.

The boy looked around in confusion, since he wasn't too sure how to halt and stop himself when he was not moving in the first place. "What's going on?"

"You're under…under…" the leader looked around on his armor for something, then looked to the wall of a nearby building. He tore off a paper hanging there, and he, along with the others, made their way to him.

The man held out the paper, showing it to Link. It appeared to be a wanted poster, and the face on it made the blood leave his face. "By word of the King of Hyrule, we have been ordered to capture and arrest a Hylian boy matching the description given by witnesses within that castle for the illegal entering of the Castle of Hyrule, the endangerment of the Royal Family, the murder of eight guards, the wounding of seven others, and the disappearance of Princess Zelda."

His mouth hanging open and his eyes wide, the normally calm and collected boy could not help but stare in shock at the guard before him. "But…how…" Link softly mumbled.

"Come in quietly, tell what became of the princess, and you may earn some sort of mercy. Otherwise we will be forced to detain you through force, and with the help of the Royal Knights, if it comes down to it."

Letting out a sigh, Link gathered all the nerve he had and stood straight before the men. Going from a fearful boy to a man readying himself for battle put the guards on edge. "I am sorry, but I will not be blamed for something I know nothing about, much less did not commit."

The leader of the group of guards shook his head in pity, and was about to say something when the fugitive boy pulled what looked like a large nut out of seemingly no where. The other guards looked at one another, and all they could do was shrug. "You are under ar—" the guard was cut off as Link tossed the Deku Nut at the group. As it hit the ground, it splintered open, letting out a bright burst of light. "What the Hell?!"

As the guards did their best to recover from their confused stupor and blindness, the leader felt the paper he was holding leave his grasp. Even after rubbing his eyes in an attempt to regain his momentarily lost sight, the man could barely make out the shape of Link rushing off, with paper in hand, towards the alley that would lead to the exit of town and Hyrule Field.

* * *

"You didn't have to attack them and run away like that!" Navi shouted at Link when they were far from Hyrule Castle Town. The boy, and apparent fugitive, was once again on Epona's back wandering aimlessly across Hyrule Field.

"I don't think I had much of a choice, Navi," Link responded without removing his gaze from the wanted poster that he held in his right hand, while his left held Epona's reigns. _MY wanted poster…_he thought sadly.

"They are going to think you're guilty now! If you had just went along with them and explained to them that you couldn't have done it, this whole thing could have been cleared up!"

"Maybe…you're right," Link conceded with a sigh, "but it's too late now." His eyes closed and he felt pain in his chest. After wandering and being homesick for seven years, this sudden problem at the moment of his return was hurting him.

"I'm…I'm sorry, Link," Navi said sadly and sat on the boy's shoulder. "I know how you feel, and I feel the same way about all this. I shouldn't be yelling at you."

A smile crossed his face and Link tapped the fairy on her tiny head, "It's okay, Navi, I understand" this made Navi smile, "Besides, I'm used to it by now," this made Navi glare and smack Link lightly on the side of the head. He laughed and looked up towards the setting sun. "It's getting late, we should find someplace to stay."

"What place would possibly allow us to stay? If the Kokiri know about whatever it was that happened at the castle, then everyone in Hyrule must know."

As if in answer to the fairy's question, the horse let out a neigh and shook her head. "Oh, that's right Epona!" Link said and petted her mane. "We completely forgot how homesick you must be." He smiled to Navi and the shining girl nodded.

"If anyone would believe you, it would be her, Link," Navi said. Link nodded and tugged on the reigns to turn Epona towards a new direction. The horse trotted happily in the direction of Lon Lon Ranch.

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A/N: Gah, it took me forever to get around to writing this. I've had the idea for this story in me head for two months. Oh, well. As you can see I am one for writing long chapters (or 'insanely long' as a few people have dubbed them), so I hope it wasn't too much. I also know the idea of Zelda being captured is cliché, but trust me, there's much more to it.

Remember, with this being my first Zelda fic, I'd appreciate if you reading this would go easy in the reviews that I hope you'll be leaving.


	2. THE RANCH

A/N: Second chapter! And only about a week after the first one. Not too bad considering how I was with the updates for my other stories. I'm glad people liked the first chapter, and I hope I can keep this pace up for the rest of the story. And also, thanks to my good friend, Blu, for telling me to do so, I'm having 'reviewer responses' at the end of each chapter, which can be good for answering reviewer's questions, comment on your feedback, or just for fun.

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**In The Shadows**

Chapter Two: THE RANCH

As Link, riding atop his chestnut-colored steed, quickly made his way across the grasses and hills of Hyrule Field. Having gone so far out of the way after his escape from the guards, and not wanting to make a straight line for Lon Lon Ranch, the boy was taking longer to get there than it would have under normal circumstances. Although, Navi well knew that leading the castle guards, or worse, some Hylian knights to their destination with an obvious trail was the least of the swordsman's worries.

"Link…" Navi said concernedly, "We should have been there by now." Link's only response was a short sigh. "I know what you are concerned about, Link—"

"I know where this is going, Navi," Link did not turn his gaze away from in front of himself, "But I'm still worried. It's been seven years—_seven years—_since I've been in Hyrule at all. Over this last day I've learned how distant I've grown from everything and everyone here."

The fairy flew in front of him and landed on Epona's head, staring Link in the eyes, and he could see, behind her light, a frown on her tiny face. "You know, there is a reason why you got the Triforce of Courage, not Wisdom; You're a real dummy, Link. This is _Malon _we're talking about. Remember how she reacted when you appeared suddenly after seven years during Ganondorf's reign?"

Link he remembered. How could he forget? When he first went to Lon Lon Ranch after leaving the ruined Castle Town, he had to pry Malon off once she realized who he was. "But then I wasn't a murderer or a kidnapper."

"An _accused _murderer and kidnapper."

"What's it matter?" Link sounded defeated, "Everyone thinks I am. I may as well be the one that did it."

The little woman flopped down onto her rear atop the horse's mane and let out a sigh, "You're hopeless. We're going to have to go there no matter what; We _do _have to return Epona, so you may as well get there as quickly as possible. Besides, she _will _believe you. If anyone in all of Hyrule, short of Zelda herself, believes you, it will be her."

Although his facial expression did not change, Navi noticed, with a smirk, that he made Epona move faster and that he seemed much less tense.

* * *

As the sun set, the once searing noonday heat was replaced by a cool dusk breeze. The animals that made their homes at Lon Lon Ranch, the only ranch in all of Hyrule, were making themselves comfortable. One particular horse was laying on the grass trying to sleep, much to the annoyance of a certain young redheaded ranch hand.

"Come on, it's time for you to go in the barn!" Malon yelled at the animal as she tugged on its reigns, putting all her weight—which was not much considering her light frame—into it, trying her best to make the comfortable horse get up. The young woman let out a grunt as her grip slipped and she fell onto the ground. She got up, rubbing the sore area and glared at the horse, "You're as stubborn as a…a mule!" she stuck her tongue out at it, and the animal let out a short neigh and laid its head back down.

Being the only ranch hand to do any real work on a ranch of so many horses, cows, and cuccos was tiresome, and Malon's father and Ingo were not much help. With Talon falling asleep left and right (she swore he had narcolepsy), and Ingo doing as little as possible to get by, and complaining the entire time, the girl was left to most of the work. Not that anyone would ever find her complaining, though, for she enjoyed every moment of it.

Leaving the mulish horse by himself as she left the ring, Malon went into the barn, the small building that contained most of the ranch's animals, to grab a rake. Eventually the horse would get up on its own, so she decided to do something else while she waited. When the woman left the barn, the sight before her made her gasp and drop the rake. One of her hands reached, out of reflex, to her mouth, but that was the only movement she could make; the rest of her body was stiff.

Across from her, near the entrance to the ranch, were Link and Epona, while a bright light that Malon guessed was a fairy, most likely Navi, floated near the two. Link stood next to the horse, holding the reigns in his left hand, with one side of his lips curled up in an unsure smile.

"Hello, Malon," the boy said in almost a whisper. The ranch girl could not make herself say anything. Half of her wanted to run and the other half wanted to embrace her old friend. She backed away until the small building behind her got in the way. The green-clad boy looked away.

Epona walked forward and managed to get her reigns out of Link's grasp. She trotted over to her former owner. The horse nudged Malon with her nose, but when she didn't budge, she bit onto the girl's sleeve and tugged on it lightly.

The redhead looked from the horse and to her visitor, then back to Epona, a big grin on her face. She nodded to her favorite horse, and rushed towards the boy, who almost tumbled over from the momentum of Malon's hug. With a huge grin on his face, Link returned the hug, and backed a step to look at his old friend, who happened to have a giant smile covering her face.

"I thought you were going to run off for a moment there."

"I'm sorry, Link," Malon said.

Confused, Link looked to Navi, who shrugged. "Sorry about what?"

"A part of me thought of running off and thought that you might actually have done all that stuff everyone is saying that you did." She frowned and looked away, "I should have known the entire time that you were innocent."

"What made you change your mind?"

Epona trotted over to them and stood there, and Malon petted the animal's white mane. "If Epona trusts you, then I trust you." The swordsman smirked at that and petted the large animal along with the ranch girl.

* * *

"Okay, Fairy Boy," Malon began. The 'fairy boy', who now wore blue overalls and a red shirt because his Kokiri tunic and cap were too easily recognizable, listened intently to the woman, "Daddy said that you can stay here for as long as you want to—"

"Yay!"

"—but, you'll have to stay out in the barn with the horses."

"Crap…" Link heard Navi snicker and the boy glared his tiny friend.

"Oh, and…Link?"

Link turned his gaze from the smaller of the two women to the larger, "Yes?"

"If it's not too much trouble, could you…help with a few things around here? You don't have to, it's just…that since Ingo left suddenly for Castle Town, I'm going to be the only one…"

A grin crossed Link's face and he nodded. "Of course; it's the least I could do. Besides, I would get bored just sitting around."

"That's surprising, considering how often you do it," Navi said, which earned her another glare.

After showing her new assistant a few of the simpler things there were to do around the ranch, Malon, along with Link, managed to get the last of the animals into the stalls inside the barn. Within the time span of only a few hours, the duo, along with as much help from Navi as the little fairy could give, had managed to do all of Malon's chores, as well as Ingo's and a few extra ones.

The redhead was on one side of the barn, sweeping the floor and trying to make a suitable bed for her visitor. All of Link's items and weapons, along with his tunic and other standard clothing, were piled in the corner near her. The boy, while Malon swept, was on the other side of the small building, sitting in a chair near a small table. His chin was set on his arms, which were folded atop the table, while his eyes, wide and unblinking, stared at the creature in front of him.

"Link, could you _please_ stop messing around with the cuccos?" All the girl got for a response was a quiet 'shh' from the boy and a 'bock' from the cucco. Rolling her eyes, Malon warned, "If you make it angry, it is going to be all your fault and trust me, you'll regret it."

The tiny white bird hopped closer to Link, their eyes never leaving one another's. The contest of wills continued, right up until the moment that the cucco pecked the boy's nose, which made him yelp and jump out of his seat, rubbing the wound. He heard Navi squeal in laughter from somewhere near Malon, and the redhead herself let out a muffled "I told you so."

"Mean little bird," the defeated swordsman growled while kicking the table, and, although it was supposed to be a light playful kick, it was enough to knock the bird off, making it bump into the chair on its way to the ground. "Whoops."

The dazed bird regained its footing and glared at its attacker. Its feathers puffed up while it spread its wings out, and then it let out a loud "_Bakaw!"_ His eyes growing wide, Link screamed and ran for the door, fully aware of what was coming.

* * *

In all of Hyrule, a land so filled with dangerous creatures and mighty warriors, there was but one group capable of reinforcing an equal sense of both fear and awe. Trained in a dozen forms of combat, capable of wielding any weapon know to Hylians, and encased in a light but yet sturdy armor, the Hylian Knights, protectors of the Royal Family, were to be reckoned with. It was said that even the Gerudos, some of the greatest warriors, had a certain respect for the Knights.

Few times have there been that the Knights needed to leave the Castle of Hyrule, but their duty to protect the Hylian Royal Family, specifically Princess Zelda, gave them the need and the reason to leave in search of the murderer, trespasser, and possible kidnapper, Link.

The large ironclad warriors, atop their steeds, made their way across the Hyrulian plains towards their first destination in search of the fugitive: Lon Lon Ranch. The five knights entered the ranch, and soon found Talon, who was raking the area in front of the barn and house.

Once the large man noticed his visitors, he dropped the rake, unsure of what to say or do. "He-hello! I wasn't expecting anyone today, especially no knights!"

The lead knight nodded to Talon, "We're looking for Link, the one that I am sure you have heard that entered the Castle and killed multiple guards and possibly kidnapped the princess. We are searching for him, and we came to see if you know anything of him."

"Oh…Link?" the ranch owner seemed to think deeply for a second, then smiled, "I'm sorry, but I can't recall anyone with a name like that." Even from behind the helmet that the knight wore, Talon could feel his eyes staring at him. He could tell the warrior was about to speak again, when a sudden scream from the inside of the barn distracted them.

"What in the name of Farore was _that?_" one of the other knights asked. To answer his question, a blonde boy wearing an outfit similar to Talon's ran out of the barn with a flock of angry cuccos at his heels. He ran, completely unaware of the presence of the knights, back behind the barn towards the horse track and grazing area, and out of the knight's view.

The leader looked back to a suddenly sweating Talon, "Who, may I ask, was that?!"

"Oh, him?" the large man said and thought a moment, "that…that was my…son! Yes, son."

The knights looked at each other in a questioning manner, but each shrugged. "…Your son? I am not aware of you having any son."

"Ah, yes well…Dalon—yes, Dalon!—he's not too bright. Kicked in the head by a horse when he was younger. Quite sad; we try to keep him from being too well known." The flow of sweat on the man's head seemed to increase.

"I see," the knight said as the blonde boy ran into back into view behind Talon's back, this time covered by the cuccos, little white feathers flying around as he yelled and tried to shake the enraged birds off of himself. "I'm sorry to have bothered you, Talon. We'll be going."

Relief, for some reason that the knight could not place, seemed to fall over the man. "That's perfectly alright," Talon smiled, "I hope you get that Bink—"

"Link."

"—Link. Someone like that shouldn't be running around. I hope Princess Zelda is found safe and sound."

"Thank you." The knight, thinking that Talon was not a very bright man, began to leave. The two last knights in the group mumbled to each other about what just happened.

"Wouldn't that mean this is Lon Lon Lon Ranch?"

"He said that he doesn't want people to know about his son, so of course not."

"That doesn't seem very nice."

Once the voices disappeared, Talon wiped his brow, glad that those knights were gullible enough to believe his quick lie. Picking up his dropped tool, the man went back to raking.

* * *

The knights, having found nothing at the ranch, decided to continue their search in Kakariko. When they made it to the bridge spanning the river they would have to cross to make it to the town, they saw the figure of Ingo, the old ranch hand, with a deep frown plastered on his face.

"So? Didn't you find what you were looking for at the ranch?" the constantly grumpy man asked.

The lead knight shook his head, "All we found was Talon and his son."

Ingo's brown furrowed, "Talon has a daughter, Malon, but no son."

"No," one of the other knights piped in, "The blonde boy being chased by cuccos. Dalon, I think his name was." Another knight nodded in agreement.

Smacking his forehead out of frustration, Ingo growled, "You buffoons! Talon has no son by the name of Dalon! That boy _was _Link, the fugitive you're all looking for!"

The man could feel the astonishment of the knights even though their expressions were hidden by their helmets. "Are you sure? He was not wearing the green tunic that we were told to look for."

"I've lived on that ranch most of my life! Of course I'm sure!" he kicked the side of the small stone bridge, "Link is an old friend of Malon's! That is why he's there and why Talon lied to you! They must have gave him some new clothes so that no one would notice that it was him, which obviously worked! I tried to be subtle with my little clue before, but now I have to be blunt about it."

"We need to go back, quickly!" the lead knight shouted, and the others turned to follow his command."

"Ahem!" Ingo grunted, making the knight look back to him. He held up one of the wanted posters, a grin plastered on his cruel face, and finger tapping the paper where it said 'reward'. The knight reached to the side of his horse and grabbed a pouch on the side of his horse, and, without giving Ingo a further glance, tossed it over his shoulder to the informant's feet.

As the knights rushed as quickly as they could to return to Lon Lon Ranch, Ingo opened the pouch to reveal his reward; a dozen purple rupees, worth six hundred in all. The man took his small, newly earned fortune into Kakariko, searching for a tavern or pub to squander it away.

* * *

Within a dark room within an unknown location in a deep recess of Hyrule, a shadowy figure stared into a large mirror-like object hanging against a wall. The room was ornate, with bas reliefs along the walls and large stone pillars rising from the wide, open floor to meet the ceiling.

The figure itself, more of a shadow than a living being, wore a garb concealing his body and a featureless mask covering his face, a face that he was ashamed and humiliated of. In one of his hands he held a tattered black book tightly; it seemed to be the only object he carried with him or had in the room, other than what he wore and the large mirror.

His gaze never left that mirror, which was more of a window to a place far from where he was. On it was the image of a teenage boy and a redheaded girl of about the same age. The boy he knew well, and he was aware of who the girl was.

The girl, Malon, helped care for the wounds the boy, Link, had earned from his encounter with the angry cuccos. He could see their lips move, but heard nothing they said. It was a silent watch he had on them, which was enough for his needs. His curiosity was piqued by what he saw.

The swordsman smiled and laughed as the ranch girl cleaned the bigger cuts and spoke in what appeared, from her expression, seemed to be a failing attempt to show Link that she was upset with him.

The being frowned behind his mask and stared closer at the two teens. "Is it possible…could it be, that I took the wrong one?" he looked over his shoulder in the direction where, in another room far off, his captive lay in slumber, "May I have taken the wrong woman?"

Looking back to the image in the mirror, he laughed. "No! Of course not. He and the ranch hand are close, but…he and…_she_" he emphasized that word, speaking of his prisoner, "Link and her, they are forever bound by destiny; their lives are connected to one another, and so to is their fate. A connection such as that is not easily broken.

"I took the right one. He will do all within his power to return her to her rightful place. But, this situation…I can use this _Malon. _I will do all I can to tear that life of _his _apart for what he has done to mine," the figure growled at the thought of the Hero of Time.

Behind the mask, a great evil grin crossed the face that the owner so loathed, "My minions!" he shouted, using his power to send the message across Hyrule to where his favorite creatures lay, "Go to where the Hero of Time rests! Do what you were summoned for, and while you do so, destroy all that live within Lon Lon Ranch!"

Even from the great distances, he could feel the delight his followers had in such an order. _This is only the beginning, Hero, _he thought, _Oh, yes. Survive this and more surely will come, ones greater than even this._

_ Do not let me down._

_

* * *

_

A/N: Blah, this chapter was supposed to be longer, but the next thing I have for it would have made it another four pages longer, at least. So, that stuff will happen in the next chapter. I do feel kinda weird, since this is the shortest chapter of anything that I've written in a while. that last chapter was about 4500 words, but this one was only 3330. Oh, well. I'll probably make it up later.

And here are those reviewer response thingies I talked about:

Blu: First reviewer!! Hehe. Thanks, prostitute girl. I figure that since people seem to put so many disclaimers here when they obviously don't need one, I decide to always do something…interesting with them. Thanks again for the review and extra thanks for beta-reading that first chapter for me! I still appreciate it -hugs-

Atchika: Clichés are fun and Epona is the best. And wow, you sure are a fast reviewer…the only reason Blu beat you to reviewing was cuz she read it before it was posted. Otherwise, you would have been the first reviewer. Fast.

Magnet-Rose: -gasp- What are you doing here?! Heh, I'm kidding. I'm glad that some people from the Trigun section are reading this story! Thanks! I love your reviews.

Allhail'tallica13: Wow, another person that reviewed my Trigun fics is reading this. Thanks!

Bvv: Nope, the title for this story was kinda random. I guess it was just a coincidence.

Fpg: Wow, another person usually in the Trigun section. But…um…back story? The two other fairies were left in Termina seven years prior to this. There's the back story!

Merimas gamgee: Oh, I plan on continuing this. Certain people –cough-Blu-cough- would hurt me if I didn't.

Jade04: Thanks, I hope I can keep it up, otherwise…yeah, that wouldn't be good.

Mynxine: OO Um…wow, it's been a while since someone offered sacrifices to me. Wait…that didn't sound right. Well, thanks for the nice review, and thanks for pointing out that mistake in the first chapter! I'll get around to fixing that when I'm not all lazy and stuff.

Blowfish the Monkey Tamer: Wow, now that's name. Yeah, this is my first real Zelda fic, other than the poor horrible ones I wrote a long time ago –shivers-

Thanks for all the reviews! I wasn't expecting that many for the first chapter of my first fic in a the Zelda section, especially that section gets updates and posts so quickly. Well, you've probably read this all, so that means it's time to review!!


	3. THE SHADOW'S FIRST STRIKE

A/N: Bleh, now that I think of it, maybe I should have made the last chapter longer and…ah, no one wants to hear me complain about mistakes. Hopefully this chapter won't be bad. I'm still not sure if I'm too good at fight scenes, since it's easy to write them repetitively and blandly.

* * *

****

**In The Shadows**

Chapter Three: THE SHADOW'S FIRST STRIKE

Night finally fell, and the ranch was enveloped in the light of a full moon. The knights, who had come dangerously close to finding their prey, had only been gone for a few moments before Malon smacked her hand alongside her visitor's head, shouting "What were you thinking?"

While Link rubbed the spot on his head, Talon came over speaking before the boy could answer for himself, "Malon, don't be too hard on him; Link didn't know that anyone was here."

"No, I'm sorry," Link sighed, "I've been here for less than a day and I have already caused you two too much trouble." Since the cucco stampede had created more than a few holes in his borrowed clothing, he now wore his tunic and normal clothes, although he left his weapons and equipment in the barn.

As she rolled her eyes, Malon stepped in front of Link, "Stop feeling so sorry all of the time. The knights are gone and I'm sure you're safe now. Besides," she added, "We don't mind you staying here a bit. Isn't that right, Poppa?"

Talon nodded, "Yup," He smiled, "You're welcome to stay here as long as you want."

A grin crossed the boy's face, "Thank you both, but…" he sighed as he looked to Navi who wore a grim expression, then returned his gaze to the father and daughter before him, "I'm not going to stay here for long. I need to find Zelda."

"Of course. The gallant knight rescuing the damsel in distress." This made Link grin more, and Talon spoke, this time looking at the night sky, "I suppose it's time to sleep."

"You woke up two hours ago!" Malon said.

"I know, but I'm sleepy."

"You're hopeless," Malon laughed and Talon grinned. Link watched on as the family laughed together. _Family…something I've never had…_he thought to himself. His thoughts were interrupted as the sound of horses entered his ears, making his heart jump. Turning his head towards the entrance of the ranch, he saw that the five knights atop their horses had returned. Once Malon noticed what Link was looking at, she gasped, and Talon turned, mouth hanging open.

The lead knight slid off of his horse and onto his feet, much more agilely than one would expect someone so clad in armor and carrying a sword and shield could be. The large man walked until he was about twenty feet away from the fugitive boy and the farmers, and even from that distance he seemed to loom over them. "We have returned for the boy there and for Talon. Lying to Hylian Knights is not something to be taken lightly."

With teeth clenched, Link stared at the knight from behind Malon and Talon. "I do not want to fight them," he whispered.

"I know, Link," Navi spoke form his shoulder, "But, if you had to, could you win?"

After a second of looking the knights over, the swordsman answered, "I really don't know and I don't want to find out. Running away is one thing, but attacking a squad of knights isn't exactly gonna make my reputation any better."

The large knight took a step forward, brandishing his broadsword to show the seriousness of the situation. A shout from his companions and the screechy neighs from their horses, brought him to a stop. "What is the problem? Get a hold of your steeds!"

"We cannot!" one of the knights exclaimed, "It seems as if something has spooked them!"

"What could possibly scare horses such as those?" the knight looked around, "I see nothing!" One of the horses bucked, sending its rider onto the ground.

"Something is coming, Link," Navi's tiny voice dripped with worry.

With his head moving back and forth in search of any danger, but not finding any, Link began to get frustrated, "I know, but where could it be?"

Suddenly, the leg of one horse disappeared underneath the soil, as if something had pulled it under. Its rider fell onto his back and before him, rising from the ground, appeared his attacker. The musty, gray bones of the creature reeked of death and decay. The crimson sword it held was stained from countless battles.

With a swift slash of the sword, the creature silenced the screaming horse, then turned its attention to its rider. The knight reached for dropped weapon, but before he was able to strike, his attacker plunged his own blade into the knight's neck, one of the few openings on the armor clad warriors.

The lead knight swore, "What kind of creature is this? It appears to be a Stalchild, but they do not wield weapons nor are they ever that large!" Around the knights, all still on horseback, five more creatures, all identical to the first, rose from the earth.

"Stalfos!" Link shouted. "Malon, get my sword! Talon, get my shield!" The two nodded at the boy's command and soon were gone into the barn.

"Knights, destroy these abominations!" the commander shouted as he rushed at a nearby Stalfos. Their swords clashed against each other, both pressing all their strength and weight in an attempt to topple one another.

Link picked up a large rock and threw it at one of the skeleton warriors that had knocked a knight from his horse. The rock smashed into the creature's head, knocking it off. The knight stood up and, after reequipping his sword, brought it down to cut the sword-wielding arm of the headless Stalfos. The boy quickly picked up the dropped sword out of the bony grip, and spun, launching it into the spine of another Stalfos that was battling with a knight.

"Link!" Malon shouted from behind him. She carried his sword and Talon, beside her, carried the much heavier shield. Running over, Link quickly grabbed the weapons and shouted, "Get into the house!" Talon agreed and grabbed his daughter's hand and dragged her into the building with him, while Link ran alongside, in case a Stalfos attacked. None did, since they were preoccupied with the knights.

After strapping the sheath of his sword along his back, Link pulled the gilded sword out, and with his newly acquired shield, made a path into the fight. Two knights were killed, but three Stalfos—the two he had helped against, and the one that had fought the commanding knight—had been destroyed.

Bursting from the ground came four more of the skeletal fighters, but the Hero alone dashed to meet them. Link easy beat one from behind, severing it in half from shoulder to hip with a jumping downward slash. The three companions of the felled Stalfos were not as easily surprised, though.

The one to his left brought its sword down in attempt to split his skull, but Link side stepped the blow. By doing so, though, he walked into the attack of the one to his right. He rolled under the horizontal slice, bringing the gilded blade up and into the groin of the Stalfos, severing the hip in half. It tumbled over, and the third monster, stepping atop his fallen comrade to get closer to Link, crushed its body to dust.

Instead of using its sword, the Stalfos swung its shield to knock Link in the head. The boy took a quick step back out his opponent's reach, but almost tumbled over in the process. The other monster stabbed at him, but that was easily blocked with his shield. The Stalfos roared, and was about to plunge his blade into the belly of the boy, but stopped and swatted at a bright light that had suddenly flown into his face.

Taking the time that Navi had given him while she distracted the enemy, Link let out a cry as he stabbed his sword into the Stalfos's ribs and pulled his sword down, taking the entire ribcage with it. After placing his shield onto his back and making his right hand into a fist, sent an uppercut into the bottom of the Stalfos's jaw, launching the wounded creature into the air. Once it fell, its body shattered against the ground.

Link, taking no time to revel in his victories, tried to intercept the last Stalfos, but his legs did not move. Looking down, he saw the hands of a skeleton reaching out of the ground, its pasty white claws gripping his lower legs. The swordsman brought his weapon up so that he could thrust it into the ground in a strike against submerged warrior, but another hand gripped his wrist.

The survivor of the first group of four Stalfos that Link intercepted had grabbed onto both of the boy's wrists. The one under the ground rose, the two Stalfos dangled the struggling form of the Hero between them. His squirming did nothing but make himself drop the gilded sword onto the ground. "Let me go!" He shouted, but his captors ignored him as they carried him towards the entrance of the ranch. _What's going on? Since when do Stalfos take captives?_

The scream of a battle cry punctured Link's ears, and he heard a sword sever through the body of the rear Stalfos. The other dropped him and unsheathed its sword to deal with the attacker. The commanding knight, his armor covered with dents and slash marks, yelled and, in his rage, tackled the creature. He gripped the hilt of his sword with both hands and brought the weapon's pommel down into the face of the Stalfos, making it yelp as its face shattered. He continued to smash the bones until it did not move at all.

After standing and letting out a few long coughs, Link reclaimed his sword and sheathed it. Looking around at the sight before him, he suddenly noticed that, although each and every Stalfos, about fourteen, had been destroyed, none of the horses or knights, other than the leader, had survived.

* * *

The remnants of the Stalfos had been cleaned up in a short amount of time, but it was still late into the night until Link, Talon and Malon awaited to see what the last knight would do. The armor clad man, that had seemed so large before but Link realized was only a foot taller than himself, stood before the three, appearing more as a statue than a living being.

Link was first to speak, stepping forward and standing straight up, looking into the iron-covered face that seemed so emotionless. "I suppose that I'll be coming with you now."

The knight did not respond. He looked back to his fallen fellow knights, who had been moved to the entrance of the ranch by both himself and Link, each laying next to each other, then, a few moments later, returned his gaze to the boy before him. Link's mouth fell open as the knight, instead of grabbing his quarry and tying him up to bring to Hyrule Castle, reached up and gripped his helmet. After a tug, it slid off, revealing a blue-haired young man, about Link's age behind the mask.

The knight placed the helmet under his arm and stared at Link. "I am Gerald, a squad commander in the Hylian Knights. Rather, I once was; after this defeat, I know not what I will be by tomorrow.

"To rush into battle alongside those who meant to capture you against your will, to aid them instead of fleeing for your own freedom speaks well of you…Link. I see now that Princess Zelda's words of your courage and honor were not unfounded. During the training of a knight, Her Highness would make many visits to recognize her unwavering gratitude for our services, and when she would do so, many times would she speak of you, always with a word upon your bravery or your superior sword skills.

"I see, now, that she spoke the truth. I must thank you for your help in the fight."

"Not that it did much good," Link said with a tone of failure.

The knight shook his head, "My companions died an honorable death against a worthy foe of darkness. They would not wish for any to feel remorse for their sacrifice. I see now that you are deserving of Her Highness's praises, which made many a soldier or guard work ever so much more diligently to become a knight to surpass you…" he hesitated before adding, "Including myself.

"But, that is impossible. Your skills, your bravery, and your spirit are unmatched; this I, being trained in asserting one's fighting skill, can plainly see," Gerald added, "I also believe now that…you are not only innocent, but you are the only one who will be capable of saving Princess Zelda from whatever fate she currently faces."

"What are you talking about?" Link asked curiously.

A slight smile crossed the blue-haired man's face, "What if…I was to return to the castle, returning from this horrible battle, only to be empty handed? What if…my prey had escaped during the aftermath of the battle?"

Link grinned as he understood what Gerald meant, "Thank you. I guess that means we should get moving."

"We?"

"Yup. Me and Navi," as he spoke, his tiny fairy friend flew out to the knight.

"A…fairy. In all my life I never thought I would ever cross paths with one. Remarkable…" Navi grinned happily at Gerald's praise.

"Don't encourage her." Navi glared at Link. He gave his good-byes and thanks to Talon and Malon, receiving a rough hug from the red-head. "I'm going to leave Epona here, Malon. She'll be happier here than she could be traveling around with me."

The girl was about to argue, but instead she nodded in understanding. The knight bowed, and Link returned it. The blonde-boy's glance turned to the bodies near the entrance of the ranch.

"Do not worry, Talon has graciously offered to help bring their bodies to the castle with his wagon," Gerald said, answering Link's unanswered question.

"Where are we going to go, Link?" Navi spoke as she fluttered around his head. "We obviously can't stay here."

"Yeah, I know that. We need to go talk to one of the sages," he nodded as he spoke, "If anyone knows how and why Stalfos are wandering around Hyrule, they should."

"And of course you're going to see the Sage of Forest as the first choice?"

"How'd you guess?" the boy laughed, and stepped away from the three others near him, who watched the conversation between him and the fairy with interest. After pulling out the Ocarina of Time, the shining blue present given to him by Zelda herself, Link waved good-bye, again.

Putting the instrument to his lips, Link closed his eyes and played the Minuet of Forest. Much to the surprise of the people watching him, Link turned into a bunch of bright lights, and flew off in the direction of the Lost Woods.

"Amazing," Gerald spoke in awe, "He commands such power and courageousness, and yet he still possesses the untainted spirit of a child. Remarkable."

* * *

"I expected no less!" the laugh of the shadowy masked figure echoed in the large ornate room that he stood within, looking into his mirror that had suddenly changed from a view of the ranch to one of trees and a think forest. "The Stalfos failed miserably in front of him, the Hero!"

"Heh, but don't grow comfortable; my next strike will be much more forceful. Escape _that _and you may earn my admiration." His gaze turned away from the mirror and towards something behind him. Far from where he was, in another area within the great temple he sheltered himself with, something grabbed his attention.

"Ah, so…she has finally awakened. Hehe. This may be amusing…"

* * *

Deep within the Lost Woods, the lush grasses and trees of the Sacred Forest Meadow shimmered in the bright moonlight. The faint sound of an ocarina floated along with the breeze, coming from the direction of the Forest Temple. In front of the ancient temple, sitting atop a small stump, was the figure of a child.

A child in only appearance, for she was as old as the Hero and had powers that even he did not understand. The Sage of Forest, Saria of the Kokiri, sat on a stump, surrounded by her favorite area within the forest, playing her tiny ocarina while her fairy companion floated around her head.

Behind her, Saria felt a presence float in that she had been waiting for. Silencing her instrument, she spun around to look at her visitor. "About time!" Standing in front of her on the pedestal with the symbol of the Forest Medallion carved into it, was Link with Navi floating around him.

"Hi, Saria…" he said unsurely.

"I've been waiting forever for you to say hello to me! What did you do, forget about your best friend over the last seven years?"

"No! I just thought that with everyone scared of me…and what Mido said…"

"Ugh, Mido…" Saria sighed and stood up, "I know you didn't do what they're all blaming you for! Stop being silly." A relieved grin crossed Link's face and Saria hurried over to him, clinging to his waist. He returned the greeting by ruffling the girl's hair. "Hey!" the girl fixed her green hair, "Don't treat me like a kid! I'm as old as you _and _I'm a Sage!" she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Right, how could I have forgotten?" he laughed.

After talking for a while longer about some of Link's adventures, including his run in with the mask of Majora and how close he came to being squished by a moon, the friends decided that it was time to get serious.

While Navi spoke with Saria's own fairy, Link frowned and sighed. "Saria, tell me, do you have any idea who it was that attacked the castle and took Zelda?"

The girl, who sat on her stump again, shook her head sadly, "I have no clue. All I know is that it wasn't you, since I could feel that you were far from Hyrule when it happened. As for the Stalfos…I really hate to say it, but…I didn't even know they were there."

The swordsman frowned, "But you should have been able to sense something that evil and dark wandering around Hyrule Field, shouldn't you?"

"That's what I mean. Who ever is commanding them is powerful and obviously dangerous."

Link's heart seemed to speed up as his worst fear entered his mind, "Could it be…is there any way that it could be _him? _Could her have escaped_"_

Saria's first response was to bite her lip and look away; She knew exactly who he was speaking of. "I pray everyday to each Goddess in hopes that would never happen…and if it did, I see no reason why one of the Sages wouldn't have felt his presence or the failure of the barrier," a sigh escaped her lips and she kicked her legs a little, "But, we can't really ignore that idea. I really, really doubt it's happened at this time, but if Ganondorf has returned then there is only one person that could be sure."

"The only person that we trust that knows him better than anyone else…" Link nodded, "I guess we're going to Gerudo Valley now." He stood up from the ground and patted the dirt and grass off of the back of his tunic. "Navi! We're leaving now."

The tiny fairy said good-bye to her friend and flew over to Link. A tiny, sad smile grew on Saria's face, "I guess you'll never be spending much time in the forest anymore."

Link looked down at his gloomy friend, but smiled and scooped her up. "I'll be back as soon as I get all this junk sorted out, ok?"

"You better…or I'll hate you."

The boy placed Saria back onto her feet and smirked, "I think that's probably scarier than having Ganondorf free again."

"You're such a dummy," the Sage laughed, "Now get going before I change my mind about letting you leave."

The boy nodded and turned his head to Navi, "Since warping to the Desert Colossus won't do us any good, we're going to have to walk to the Valley."

"You mean _you'll _have to walk," Navi reminded him, "I'll fly there, as always, thank you very much."

As he rolled his eyes at his fairy, he said "You know what I meant." The two of them said their last good-byes to Saria and her fairy, and the boy and his fairy began another journey, leaving their home of the forest and their friend in search of something that a part of them did not want to find.

* * *

A/N: I….guess that wasn't too bad. I'm still not too sure about the Stalfos scenes, though. At least this chapter was a bit longer than that other one. Oh, and I'm glad so many people enjoyed the cucco rampage from the last chapter.

Response…Thingers:

Allhail'tallica13: I'm glad that the cucco thing was amusing. Leaving out the cuccos in a Zelda fic just seems wrong.

Luna-Kitsune-Blu: Holy crap! You were logged in! –smacks Blu over the head- Oh, yeah, _you're _telling _me _to be nicer to my main characters, specifically Link? Okay, so who was it that killed him off in one fic _and _made him commit suicide in a different one? Hmm? –hugs- Thank _you_ for the review!

Magnet-Rose: I'm glad that you're here for the trip to the Zelda-verse, Miss Rose, it's strange enough for me. I'm glad that you liked the cucco thing, just…don't laugh too loud in a library. That's not always a good thing.

Rockie-Chan: See, Talon and Malon did not die! Unless I…die or something, this story should be finished eventually.

Bvv: Well, thank you! For me, that last chapter was a short, compared to some in my other stories, at least.

Fpg: Thank you for the two reviews! Yes, the cuccos are the best, are they not? Maybe it is Ganon…maybe it's not…

Atchika: All stories, Zelda or otherwise, should have tiny angry chickens maul the hero. It's just so useful.

Osiris: Well, it's not going to be Link/Malon, since the girl is kinda out of the picture for now. I'm not one to stress over pairings too much and they're not usually an important part of my stories. Just because they hugged a couple times and Malon helped him with his wounds doesn't mean they have to like each other in a pairing type of way, right? Of course not.

Jade04: I'm glad that I could make you laugh! I am trying my best to make Link interesting, since he has no defined personality in the games.

Blowfish the Monkey Tamer: I'm glad that you liked his lie. I'm glad that it and the cucco attack didn't seem like they didn't fit into it, since they were both so…silly.

Mastah Classah: Ah, so many people guessing the shadowy figure person…I'll probably write a GS fic soon, but I have no clue when. If I ever can, I'll try to get around to reading yours.


	4. VISITING THE THIEVES

A/N: I am so very, very sorry for the BIG delay in an update for this. Many, many things got in the way, I had crap to do, and I really hated the first draft of this chapter and it took a while for me to convince myself to rewrite it. I was going to rewrite the entire story, but I realized that I don't have the ambition to do so. Anyways…

A lot of people have guessed about the identity of the villain, but the first person to get it right is my friend Luna-Kitsune-Blu. So…she gets a cookie. Not that it's a hard thing to guess. My unoriginality is coming back to haunt me.

* * *

**In The Shadows**

Chapter Four: VISITING THE THIEVES

The first thing she noticed after waking up was the distinct, pulsing pain of a headache pounding in her skull. Zelda pushed herself into a sitting position on the cold marble floor that she had be carelessly dropped on and rubbed her head. She couldn't remember where she was or why she was there, and after examining her surroundings she still had no guess.

The room she was circular and very wide. The ceiling must have been high, since she couldn't see it in the dim light cast from torches that hung off the walls. There were marble pillars that went parallel to the walls. In the center of the room was a tall stone podium.

Zelda stood and went to the podium to get a closer look and saw that there was a large glass crystal at the top, about level with her chest. Light shimmered off of the orb and tiny sparkles seemed to float in the black and blue swirls. Shaking her head, the sage did her best to think of where she could be. None of the sages' temples had anything like this and she was positive that she was no longer in the castle. When she tried to think back to what happened before she had been knocked out her headache would get worse, but she knew that someone had been in the castle and managed to kidnap her.

Casting another glance around the room, she saw two doors, one that lead to stairs going higher into the temple or whatever it was her kidnapper had brought her to and the other door ad gold chains wrapped around it, obviously locked.

Sighing, Zelda looked back at the orb on the podium, curious as to what it was. She reached out to touch it, but she froze when a voice came from behind her. "Don't touch that, Princess." She jumped around and standing there was a figure wearing a mask. She swore he wasn't there before… "You shouldn't touch things that you have no knowledge about. Curiosity killed the cat, right?"

It was obviously her captor. "Where am I?"

"Sorry, Princess, can't tell you that."

_Why is his voice familiar? _"I expected something like that. Why am I here?"

"Oh, that I can answer. Hehe." Even though the mask blocked her view of his face, Zelda knew he was grinning. "You're here because I brought you here."

"No, I mean…" Zelda sighed, "_Why _did you bring me here?"

"I can't tell you that, either, Your Highness," he snickered. He said 'Your Highness' and 'Princess' in such a mocking tone that it made the titles insulting. "I came here to say hello now that you're awake—I hope you slept well—but now I must go, although I hate to say it. Heh. I've got something to do."

"What exactly am I supposed to do?"

The figure shrugged. "I didn't bring you here to baby sit you, find something to do yourself. It'll have to be in this room, of course. No leaving, not that you have a choice. Oh, and those sage powers of yours," Zelda covered her slight surprise in learning that he knew about her being a sage, "they won't do you any good in here." He turned and went into the far door with the stairs.

"Hmph." Zelda looked back at the crystal, but before she could touch it, she was interrupted again from a voice coming down from at the top of the stairs.

"Don't touch that!"

Zelda frowned and crossed her arms. It was going to be a very, very long time until someone figured out where she could be…_if _they ever figured it out. She didn't even know where she was. She sat on the ground with her back against the podium and frowned. Nothing to do but think to herself…

* * *

"Come on, admit it!"

"No."

"Aww. I know you know I'm right."

"No."

"Please? I'll stop bugging you."

"No."

"Come on! I know you're regretting leaving Epona at the ranch!"

Link glared at the fairy. It had been a long time since they left the woods, but now they had made it close to the canyon…of course, without his horse, Link had to walk the entire distance. "I'm perfectly fine!"

Navi raised an eyebrow as she fluttered in front of him. "Are you sure? It was a _long _distance and you haven't sat down yet. Your feet should be hurting a lot by now."

"They don't hurt because I've lost all feeling in them…" Link mumbled, but smiled at Navi and said, "I just want to get to Gerudo Fortress and see Nabooru as soon as possible. Besides, I borrowed Epona in the first place, so she was Malon's the entire time. She'll be better off at the ranch, anyways." They were nearing the bridge across the canyon now, almost to the Fortress. Navi sat on Link's head and dangled her legs in front of his face. "Do you mind?"

"Nope!" Navi giggled. Link sighed and shook his head. "Hey!" the fairy yelled as she clung to Link's hair so she wouldn't fall off, "Watch it!"

Before he could say anything, Link was distracted when he heard a sound behind him. He jumped around, but didn't see anything. When he turned back, though, two Gerudo jumped him. Navi screamed and scurried under Link's hat. He squirmed and did his best to try to get away, but Link couldn't budge the two female warriors. One brought her fist down alongside his head, and he blacked out.

Link woke up a little while later…rather, what he thought was a little while, but night had apparently fallen while he was knocked out. He stood up and almost fell over, being a bit dizzy. "Navi?"

The fairy floated over from one of the corners. "You have a way with people, Link. Why would they attack you? I thought you had that Gerudo pass thing? I thought Nabooru would be here?"

"One, I'm an outsider and on top of that, male. Two, that was before time got all rewound. Three, Nabooru probably doesn't know I'm here."

"Oh…" Navi frowned, "If you still had that pass thing it wouldn't be any trouble. All that time travel stuff got me confused. I didn't like it."

"Yeah, me neither." Link looked up at the window that had been in the little jail the last time he had been thrown in there. Which was technically never due to being sent back in time, but he didn't like to think about things like that. It hurt his head. He pulled out his gold hookshot, the one from Termina, and used it to pull himself through the window. He fell with a thump and winced. _At least I've got feeling back in my feet. _"Okay, I just need to find Nabooru. Easy!"

"No…" Navi corrected, "You need to sneak through a heavily guarded fortress filled with master swordfighters and find their leader."

"Like I said, easy." Navi rolled her eyes.

Ten minutes later, Link and Navi found themselves back in the cell, the swordsman earning a new lump on his head in the process. "Easy?"

Link rubbed his skull, "It's not like one of the temples. I can't just plow through it. I need to be sneaky—which, I'm not too good at—and it's not like I can just fight my way through…" He thought for a moment. "You'd think Nabooru would have come to see me, being a prisoner and all."

"She's the leader of the Gerudo, she has a lot of more important things to do than to check up on some boy who came to peep on them." She added, once she saw Link about to point something out, "That's not why you're here, but I'm sure they find some guy every once in a while that came here just for that."

"Oh, that's just great." Pulling his hookshot out and aiming at the window again, Link sighed, "I've got another idea. Rather not do it, but it could work." Once he got through the window and landed back on the ground, he looked around at the guards scattered about. Navi opened her mouth to ask Link about his little plan, but Link smirked when he saw a red-clothed Gerudo and rushed at her. Navi followed with a shocked squeal.

The Gerudo turned, both of her scimitars ready, and blocked Link's downward slash, just as he expected her to. He jumped back and waited, both he and the Gerudo sizing each other up. He ignored Navi's shouts of 'What in the name of Din are you doing?!' and focused his mind on his opponent. _I just need to win…_Link knew, from his last visit to the fortress (which technically never happened. He still hated time travel) that the red-clothed Gerudo were much better than any of the purple and blue clothed ones. That's why there were only three or four that he had to fight last time, and that was enough to become a member of the Gerudos.

The woman leapt forward, bringing the sword in her right hand down, which Link blocked with his shield. Her other weapon slashed at his legs, but instead of severing the limbs, it met his gilded sword's blade. Taking the opening, Link kneed the Gerudo in the gut. He winced from it more than the woman did. _I don't want to hurt her, but I do need to beat her._ She didn't need to recover from the blow, so she instantly stepped back, and spun clockwise on her left foot, bringing her right into Link's skull.

"You could make this a lot easier on both of us," Link said as he shook his head, trying to shake of the effect of the kick, "I just want to see Nabooru."

"Some pathetic boy is not worth her time."

He sighed, "That's what I thought…" _I guess I got to go through with the plan. I just hope beating one red will be enough to get Nabooru's attention. _The Gerudo attacked, both of her swords swinging in a fast and controlled fury of slashes, all of which Link blocked with his sword or shield. A large number of the guards had gathered around, wanting to watch what they thought was some helpless boy fight one of their most well-trained warriors. Link swung a punch at the warrior, hoping to hit her arm enough for her to drop a sword, but she evaded it and kicked back, landing it. He only stumbled a bit, doing his best to ignore the sore spot on his waist.

Letting out a quick yell, Link slashed horizontally, the Gerudo easily avoided it with a back flip, just as he was hoping. When the warrior landed, she noticed a brown object flying at her feet, but, being from the desert, she didn't recognize the deku nut. It exploded into a burst of light, making the woman see white and black dots for a moment. Her vision began to clear, just in time to see her opponent land an uppercut into her jaw, making her fly back and onto the ground.

The swordsman winced, "Sorry." It was then that he realized he was surrounded. "Hmm…maybe I didn't think my plan out enough…"

"For the love of Nayru, what were you thinking?!" Navi shouted. "Now they're going to gang up on you and beat the crap out of you!"

"Stand down!" a voice shouted, and the Gerudo that had been ready to recapture Link stopped. They all, including their would-be captive, looked to the owner of the voice. Standing outside of one of the entrances to the Fortress, flanked by two guards was Nabooru, wearing a deep frown directed towards the intruder. She walked towards Link, not removing her glare from him, stopping right in front of him. They looked at each other for a moment, then Link opened his mouth to say something…he was interrupted by Nabooru slapping him in the head. "What in the Hell, my I ask, are you doing here, Link?"

"I—"

"You leave for seven years, and the first thing you can think of doing when you get back is come here and start a fight?"

"Well, not—"

"Why are you here, kid? Want to sharpen your skills or do just like causing trouble in dangerous places?"

"I came here to see you about something important!"

"Then why didn't you introduce yourself to the guards and explain that? They may not recognize you, but 'Link' is one of the few people permanently welcomed here."

Trying to let that sink in for a moment, Link bit his lip. "So…you're saying that if I had told them who I was I could have avoided all this?" Nabooru nodded once. Link sighed and lowered his head and Navi smacked him, telling him how stupid it was to do what he did and how easy it could have been.

A short time later, Link and Navi found themselves in a room with Nabooru and her guards. Nabooru's frown was, miraculously, deeper and she looked even more serious than usual, with a bit of grimness along with it. "No. It's impossible," she said, shaking her head.

"Are you sure?" Link asked.

"If Ganondorf had escaped, I, of all people, would know, Link. Between being a sage and the one person that knew him best, I'd have felt his presence for sure. Not to mention, if he had escaped, I'm sure he'd try to get the Gerudo back first thing. No, it's impossible, he's still sealed up. Whoever it is that's kidnapped Zelda, framed you, and sent those Stalfos after you—since I agree that, if what you said was true, they were acting under a higher influence—it's _not _Ganondorf."

"That's good news…I think," he shook his head, "I guess I'm back to where I started."

"Well…" Nabooru seemed to be thinking, "Being Stalfos, they're inherently a creature of shadows, so Impa may know where they came from or what's controlling them. The fact that she's been spending most of her time in the Shadow Temple since she doesn't, or rather, didn't need to follow Zelda everywhere makes her all that more sensitive to things connected to Shadow."

"Like Stalfos, and possibly whatever it is that's controlling them. Why do I get the feeling I'm going to be visiting most of the Sages before this is over with?"

A familiar little snicker came from under Link's hat, "I'm sure you're looking forward to going to Zora's Domain. I'm sure it'll be fun for you to explain to your 'fianc' why you didn't keep in touch during your little trip." Link winced.

"Okay, so Impa and the Shadow Temple it is! At least I won't have to walk there this time." As he said that, he pulled out the Ocarina of Time. "Thanks, Nabooru…and sorry about causing trouble."

The Gerudo leader rolled her eyes, "Just don't do anything stupid like that again, kid. Oh, and I suggest that you warp from in here, otherwise the Gerudo you knocked out is going to find you and tear your legs off."

"Gotta love Gerudo hospitality."

"…You attacked her, threw a deku nut at her, and knocked her out," Navi pointed out.

"Yeah…well…" He looked back at Nabooru, "Bye!" After playing the Nocturne of Shadow, he flew off in a burst of purple light.

Nabooru sighed and shook her head, "At least he didn't break anything."

* * *

"Heh." The dark man snickered to himself. "Could he have made it _any _easier for me?" He had been thinking of having something, probably more Stalfos, attack Gerudo Fortress to get to Link, but with so many trained warriors there, he decided to wait and see where Link would go afterwards. He was very glad that he did.

"What…what is that?"

Frowning slightly, the figure turned to see the princess standing behind him. "I was wondering how long it was going to take for you to get the courage to come up here."

"Courage?" the princess asked. "I was getting bored." She pointed to the large mirror-like object on the wall that had been showing what Link was doing. "What is that thing? And…why is Link in it?"

The dark figure grinned under his mask, "It's a little window into that little Hero's life. I've been watching him for quite a while now, ever since he came back."

"Came back?" Zelda's eyes grew, "You mean Link came back? He's in Hyrule?"

"For a while now, in fact. He's going to the Shadow Temple to see that old bodyguard of yours."

"So…that's what you want. You want Link. I'm still not quite sure what you need me for. Doesn't matter, since he's safe from your power in the Temples."

He nodded, "Normally, yes. But…this is the Shadow Temple. Hehe, as you can see I'm a bit accustomed to shadows and whatnot. I'd even go as far to say that I'm as much a part of the Shadow Temple as Impa herself is, for different reasons, of course."

"You can't mean…that you can enter it?"

"More than that. I have free run of it, and, unlike the other temples, it doesn't hinder my power, and in fact, increases it by a large fraction." He turned back to the mirror in time to see Link reform atop the mark of the Shadow medallion in front of the entrance to the temple. "He doesn't have any clue how stupid his new move was."

She did her best not to worry—this was Link, after all, he can take care of himself—but she failed. Whatever or whoever this was, he was trying to get Link just as he had done to her. 'Why' was a question he didn't seem willing to answer and was one that she couldn't guess at. She decided that she would watch him, despite how badly she didn't want to be near him.

"This will be an amusing show, Princess, I suggest you stay here and watch."

* * *

FINALLY!! I got another chapter done. Gah, I still don't like it. BUT, it's done, and it's the best I can come up with. I'm sure the next chapter will be more fun for me to write and we be written sooner. MUCH sooner than this one.

Bleh, no reviewer type response things. I've got nothing to say, really, and I want to get this up as fast as I can. But, thanks to everyone reading and reviewing this!


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